The PRN Princess: How Reva Lewis Built a Flexible Nursing Career Through Travel Nursing, PRN Work & Living Life on Her Own Terms
What if your nursing career could support the life you want to live….instead of your entire life revolving around your nursing job?
For many nurses, the traditional path looks something like this:
Graduate nursing school.
Get a full-time hospital job.
Work three 12-hour shifts every week.
Maybe change specialties.
Eventually move into leadership, advanced practice, or retirement.
But nursing doesn't have to look that way.
Reva Lewis, a NICU nurse with more than 15 years of experience, has built a career around a very different philosophy: flexibility.
Known online as the PRN Princess, Reva has spent more than a decade working on and off as a travel nurse, maintaining PRN positions, creating content, working with brands, traveling the country, sharing her dating adventures, and intentionally creating a life that doesn't follow the traditional timeline.
During our conversation on the Life After Nursing School Podcast, one message came through again and again:
Your nursing career can be whatever you decide to make it.And Reva is living proof.
Reva Lewis Didn't Even Plan to Become a NICU Nurse
One of the most interesting things about Reva's career is how little of it was perfectly planned.
Her first nursing job wasn't in the NICU.
It was adult med-surg.
After graduating, Reva applied to dozens of nursing positions and eventually accepted the first job offer she received. Like many new graduate nurses, she had been told that med-surg would help her develop time management, clinical skills, and a strong nursing foundation.
But those early days weren't easy.
Reva and one of her best friends (also a new graduate nurse) would finish difficult shifts and talk about how overwhelmed they felt. Eventually, that friend introduced Reva to the NICU and encouraged her to consider making the transition.
After one year in adult med-surg, Reva transferred into the NICU.
But she did something important: She kept her med-surg position PRN.
That decision may have been an early glimpse into how Reva would ultimately build her career.
Instead of completely closing one door to walk through another, she began creating options.
She spent two years gaining NICU experience before another opportunity completely changed her career again: travel nursing.
How Reva Lewis Became a Travel Nurse
Travel nursing wasn't something Reva learned about in nursing school.
She first heard about it from another nurse who was leaving to take a travel assignment.
Her reaction was essentially:
"Wait… that's a thing?"
Once she learned more, she was interested immediately.
At the time, Reva was earning $19 per hour as a nurse in Mississippi while dealing with high patient ratios and an environment that didn't necessarily fit the life she wanted to build.
Then a travel nursing agency mailed her a postcard advertising approximately $1,800 per week.
Yes—a literal postcard.
Reva was sold.
What began as a career experiment turned into more than a decade of traveling on and off.
Reva estimates she has completed upwards of 16 travel nursing assignments and has spent roughly 10 to 11 years moving in and out of travel nursing.
But one of the most valuable things she shared was this:
Travel Nursing Is Not for Everyone
Social media can make travel nursing look incredibly glamorous.
Beautiful destinations.
Higher paychecks.
New cities.
Time off between assignments.
And yes—those things can absolutely be part of the experience.
But Reva is quick to point out that travel nursing isn't right for every nurse.
You may walk into an unfamiliar hospital with minimal orientation.
Your schedule may change.
Your housing may fall through.
A contract can be canceled.
The unit may function very differently from what you're used to.
You might not know exactly where your next assignment will be.
One of Reva's friends tried travel nursing after Reva encouraged her to give it a chance. She discovered that she preferred organized, familiar units and didn't enjoy the uncertainty that comes with traveling.
And that was okay.
She tried it.
She learned it wasn't for her.
And she moved on without wondering whether she had missed an opportunity.
That's an important career lesson in itself.
Trying something doesn't mean you have to commit to it forever.
Sometimes the only way to know whether a career path fits you is to experience it.
Travel Nurse Tip #1: Have an Emergency Fund
When I asked Reva what she would tell a nurse considering their first travel nursing assignment, her first piece of advice was simple:
Have an emergency fund.
Travel nursing comes with financial variables that permanent staff nurses don't always face.
You may pay a housing deposit and have your contract canceled.
Housing could fall through while you're traveling to the assignment.
You might need to unexpectedly move.
Your assignment might end earlier than anticipated.
Reva stressed that travelers need money available for those unexpected situations.
Interestingly, Reva didn't follow that advice when she started.
She openly shared that she began travel nursing with virtually no financial cushion and used company housing during her first assignment because she couldn't afford to independently secure housing.
She figured it out—but after years of experience, she now understands exactly why having financial backup matters.
Travel Nurse Tip #2: Be Adaptable
The second requirement?
Flexibility.
Travel nursing involves change.
A lot of it.
The policies will be different.
The charting system may be different.
Your assignment might not look exactly like what you expected.
Your coworkers don't know you yet.
And you may find yourself navigating circumstances that weren't clearly explained during recruitment.
Reva has experienced travel assignments where she had to decide whether an unexpected float assignment was something she could safely navigate or something she needed to push back against.
Over time, those experiences taught her better questions to ask before accepting future contracts.
The lesson?
Every travel assignment teaches you something.
Even the difficult ones.
Travel Nurse Tip #3: Ask Questions—A Lot of Them
New travel nurses may feel pressure to appear extremely competent.
After all, hospitals are hiring travelers because they need nurses who can step in quickly.
But Reva strongly encourages travelers to ask questions.
Ask your coworkers.
Ask other travel nurses.
Ask people on social media.
Ask your recruiter.
Ask about floating.
Ask about patient populations.
Ask about scheduling.
Ask about orientation.
Ask what happens if census drops.
Being a travel nurse doesn't mean pretending you know everything.
It means knowing enough to recognize when you don't know something.
Reva put it simply: there will never be a perfect moment to start.
At some point, you have to prepare yourself—and then go.
Know When to Be Flexible and When to Advocate for Yourself
There's an important balance in travel nursing.
You need to be adaptable.
But adaptability does not mean accepting an unsafe assignment.
Reva explained that travel nurses have to learn to stand up for themselves, even while understanding that pushing back can sometimes put a contract at risk.
That's part of the reality of contract nursing.
You're there to fill a staffing need.
You still need to show up as a good employee.
Be a team player.
Take excellent care of patients.
Show up on time.
Be flexible where appropriate.
But understand your own clinical limitations.
Know your rights.
And recognize when something crosses the line from inconvenient to unsafe.
Travel nursing requires both adaptability and self-advocacy.
Your Travel Nurse Recruiter Is Also a Salesperson
This was one of the most candid parts of our conversation.
Reva has worked with multiple travel nursing agencies and recruiters throughout her career, while I previously worked as a travel nurse recruiter.
So we had a very honest conversation about that relationship.
One thing travelers should understand is that recruiters are there to help fill contracts.
That doesn't mean every recruiter is untrustworthy.
A great recruiter can be incredibly valuable.
But Reva believes nurses should remember that agencies are businesses and recruiters are ultimately working within a sales structure.
Her advice is to protect your own interests.
Understand your contract.
Know your rights as an employee.
Maintain relationships with multiple agencies when appropriate.
And when you find a recruiter you genuinely trust, that relationship can be more valuable than simply choosing an agency because of its name.
Reva specifically explained that when she recommends a company, it's often because she trusts a particular recruiter there—not because she blindly trusts every person working for that agency.
That's a huge distinction.
Don't Be Afraid to Change Recruiters
Sometimes you simply don't click with your recruiter.
Maybe they don't listen.
Maybe communication is poor.
Maybe they continuously send jobs that don't match what you've told them you want.
Reva recommends communicating your concerns first.
But if the relationship still isn't working, advocate for a change.
Travel nurses sometimes forget that they have options.
You aren't required to stay with one recruiter forever simply because that's who you originally signed up with.
Why Reva Became the “PRN Princess”
Travel nursing gave Reva something she valued even more than a paycheck: Freedom.
Over time, she learned how to move between travel contracts and PRN nursing rather than locking herself into one traditional full-time role.
That flexibility allows her to decide when she wants to work more and when she wants more time for the rest of her life.
And that's really what the "PRN Princess" philosophy represents.
It's not simply about working fewer hours.
It's about having options.
PRN nursing can allow nurses to maintain bedside skills, stay connected to a hospital, earn income, and create more control over their schedules.
For Reva, combining travel nursing and PRN nursing became a way to build a nursing career that supported her lifestyle rather than controlled it.
Nursing Doesn't Have to Be Your Only Income Stream
Reva's career has expanded far beyond bedside nursing.
She's also a content creator who shares nursing, travel, lifestyle, and dating content online.
She works with brands.
She creates UGC, or user-generated content, which involves producing content that brands can use on their own platforms.
Interestingly, Reva says UGC helped make her a better content creator because it forced her to learn skills like marketing products, shooting B-roll, creating transitions, and producing content more strategically.
Today, her income and professional identity aren't tied to one employer.
She may take a travel assignment.
Work PRN.
Create UGC.
Partner with brands.
Create content.
That diversification gives her something many nurses are craving: career flexibility.
You Don't Have to Follow the “Cookie-Cutter Timeline”
This may have been the most important part of the entire conversation.
Reva said that travel nursing taught her not to be afraid to try things simply because they sounded interesting.
Try it.
See what happens.
If you love it, keep going.
If you don't, walk away.
Eventually she realized something about herself:
The cookie-cutter timeline doesn't work for her.
And she's completely okay with that.
That's bigger than nursing.
We're often handed a timeline for adulthood:
Graduate.
Start a career.
Get married.
Buy the house.
Have children.
Work full-time.
Climb the ladder.
Retire.
But what if that's not the life you want?
Reva challenges nurses—and especially women—to ask themselves whether they're pursuing something because they genuinely want it or because they believe it's what they're supposed to do.
Yes, We Talked About Dating Too
If you follow Reva online, you know her platform isn't limited to nursing.
She's also incredibly open about dating.
And I love that because it reinforces the deeper theme of her entire brand:
Nurses are people outside of work.
We date.
We travel.
We get disappointed.
We go on ridiculous dates.
We laugh with our friends.
We figure life out as we go.
Reva shares those stories not because she has dating completely figured out, but because she finds value in getting other perspectives and realizing other women are often experiencing the same things.
There's something refreshing about a nurse creator who isn't only showing scrubs and clinical content.
She's showing the person underneath them.
Her Favorite Travel Assignment? Hawaii.
When I asked Reva to choose her favorite travel nursing assignment, the answer was easy: Hawaii.
Not necessarily because of the hospital itself but because of the experience.
She spent six months living on the island, exploring, connecting with coworkers who made her feel welcome, and experiencing a chapter of life she still describes as one of the best times of her life.
And isn't that ultimately one of the most compelling parts of travel nursing?
It's not only about the job.
It's about what the job can make possible.
Reva didn't just work in Hawaii.
She lived in Hawaii for six months.
That's a memory she'll carry forever.
The Question Reva Uses to Guide Her Life
Toward the end of our conversation, Reva shared a question that beautifully summarizes her entire approach to life: When I get to the end of my life, what story do I want to look back on?
If something doesn't contribute to that story—or bring her joy—she questions whether she wants to spend her time doing it.
That's an incredibly powerful way to think about a nursing career.
Because your job matters.
But so does your life.
Your nursing career should help create the story you want to tell….not become the entire story.
7 Career Lessons Nurses Can Learn From Reva Lewis
If you're considering travel nursing, PRN nursing, or simply looking for more flexibility, here are some of the biggest lessons from Reva's story:
1. Your first nursing job doesn't define your career.
Reva started in adult med-surg.
Today she's known primarily as a NICU nurse and travel nurse.
Careers evolve.
2. Try things before deciding they're not for you.
You won't know whether travel nursing, PRN work, content creation, or another opportunity fits until you explore it.
3. Flexibility is a career skill.
Adaptability has helped Reva navigate hospitals, contracts, travel, housing problems, and changing opportunities.
4. Protect yourself financially.
If you're considering travel nursing, build an emergency fund.
Contracts and housing situations can change quickly.
5. Advocate for yourself.
Know your clinical boundaries.
Know your rights.
Ask questions.
Speak up.
6. Don't rely on one career path or income stream.
Nursing can exist alongside content creation, entrepreneurship, PRN work, education, or countless other opportunities.
7. Build your career around the life you want.
This is the biggest one.
Don't automatically choose the life everyone else says you should want.
Ask yourself what actually makes you happy.
Final Thoughts: Your Nursing Career Can Look Different
Reva Lewis isn't trying to convince every nurse to become a travel nurse.
In fact, she openly says travel nursing isn't for everyone.
That's exactly why her message is so valuable.
The lesson isn't: Everyone should travel.
The lesson is: Everyone should figure out what works for them.
→ Maybe that's full-time bedside nursing.
→ Maybe it's PRN.
→ Maybe it's travel nursing.
→ Maybe it's NICU.
→ Maybe it's creating content.
→ Maybe it's combining four different things into one wonderfully unconventional career.
There isn't one correct way to be a nurse.
Reva's story is a reminder that nursing can give you an incredible foundation—but you get to decide what you build on top of it.
And maybe the question isn't:
"What nursing job should I have?"
Maybe it's: "What kind of life do I want and how can nursing help me build it?"
That's the real PRN Princess mindset.
And honestly?
More nurses might benefit from thinking that way.
As always — I have one hand for me, and the other for you. 🤍
Signing Off…
Caroline
PS. Want more on this topic? Listen to Life After Nursing School Podcast Ep 68